Parental Authority Limitation Act of 2150

THE HISTORY OF OUR BEAUTIFUL UTOPIA
Chapter XVI: "Ageism is the new racism"

From the press statement given at Wishful City, Utopia:

"... [the] Grand Parliament of Utopia has voted on and accepted the following as Utopian Law, effective immediately.

SUMMARY OF THE EXISTING LEGAL FOUNDATION

It is widely known that, as all present would agree, [...] Human Beings are naturally entitled to a number of basic rights and liberties, as expressed in the Utopian Constitution of 2082. [...]

SUMMARY OF THE ADDITION TO EXISTING UTOPIAN LAW

Minors are people, too. [...] It's that simple."

The somewhat misnamed Parental Authority Limitation Act of 2150 came as a shock to most Utopians when it was passed almost unanimously in the Grand Parliament. It went far beyond just describing the limits of parental authority; It was literally a mass emancipation of children and teenagers throughout the country. The Utopian Government later set a number of generic regulations to facilitate the fair judgement of individuals, now that ageism had practically been outlawed. One of the example cases given, demonstrating what came to be known as "the driver's license test", gained almost instant fame.

"John Doe, age 12, wishes to drive a car. It is legally required of him to possess a driver's license in order to do so. If he

1. says he wants to drive;
2. is judged to be physically and mentally capable of driving (e.g. he must be tall enough to steer, brake, and see the road, and he must be legally sane);
3. can demonstrate, in a standard test, satisfactory driving skills and knowledge of driving theory;

then he cannot be denied a driver's license."

"Oh well, at least the little devils can't run for the Grand Parliament, can they?" said one mother to a Daily Utopian reporter at the time. When corrected, she covered her young daughter's ears and let out a colorful stream of swearwords in several languages. The daughter went on to become Utopia's Minister of Equality at the age of 17.